by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is federal data on the loans students use to pay for Volunteer State Community College, including completion-adjusted borrowing and a standard repayment estimate. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and IPEDS.
Among first-year students at VSCC, 2% of first-year students take on loan debt, with a typical loan of $3,812 each, across private and federal loan sources.
The average federal loan is $3,749, which is 68.2% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
For undergraduates overall at VSCC, 6% take out federal student loans, for a typical $4,941 annually. It comes to 31.8% greater than the $3,749 borrowed by freshmen.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $9,882 over two years and about $19,764 over a four-year span. This assumes steady federal borrowing and leaves out private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 6% |
| Average federal loan per year | $4,941 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 331 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $1,635,441 |
Graduating and withdrawing students at VSCC carry a median federal debt of $4,727 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $4,727 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $7,550 |
| Students who withdrew | $4,000 |
The figure for students who withdrew is worth watching: debt without a completed credential is the hardest to repay.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for VSCC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,350 |
| 25th percentile | $2,018 |
| 75th percentile | $8,250 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $14,000 |
The gap between the 10th and 90th percentile is the clearest single measure of how widely borrowing varies at VSCC.
The figures above count only the students own federal loans. Adding PLUS loans (borrowed by parents or graduate students) gives a fuller picture of total borrowing at VSCC.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 477 | $10,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 95 | $10,000 |
| Did not complete | 382 | $10,000 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $118.91/mo.
Federal data lets us separate Stafford borrowers from the rest at VSCC.
Borrowers With Any Stafford Loan
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 461 | — |
| No Stafford loan | 16 | — |
Stafford This Year vs Not
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 142 | $9,376 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 335 | $10,292 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. VSCC.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The federal two-year cohort default rate for VSCC appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 12.0% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 1497 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $5,250 |
| Middle income | $4,400 |
| High income | $4,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $4,595 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,135 |
Dependent vs Independent Borrowers
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $3,500 |
| Independent students | $5,925 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for VSCC.
Subsidized vs. Unsubsidized Loans
Unsubsidized federal student loans accrue interest every month — even while you are still enrolled. Unless you pay that interest as it builds, the balance you owe at graduation can be noticeably higher than the amount you originally borrowed.
Worth Knowing
Declaring bankruptcy does not erase federal student loan debt. If you stop paying, the federal government can garnish a portion of your wages until the loans are repaid.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.